Information processing apparatus and wireless communication method

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus includes a first communication unit configured to communicate with a first communication apparatus; a second communication unit configured to wirelessly communicate with each of one or more second wireless communication apparatuses; an acquisition unit configured to acquire from the first communication apparatus via the first communication unit an apparatus ID that is held by the first communication apparatus and that is used for identifying one of the one or more second wireless communication apparatuses to or from which the second communication unit transmits or receives data; and a control unit configured to control the second communication unit to transmit or receive the data to or from the one of the one or more second wireless communication apparatuses that is identified by the apparatus ID acquired by the acquisition unit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/928,920, filed on Jul. 14, 2020, which is a Continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/208,114, filed on Dec. 3, 2018 and nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,757,294, which is a Continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/451,975, filed on Mar. 7, 2017 and now U.S. Pat.No. 10,178,270 which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/678,252, filed on Apr. 3, 2015 and now U.S. Pat. No. 9,621,755,which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/679,321,filed on Feb. 27, 2007 and now U.S. Pat. No. 9,026,103, which claims thebenefit of Japanese Application No. 2006-053345, filed on Feb. 28, 2006,and Japanese Application No. 2007-030175, filed on Feb. 9, 2007, each ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatuscapable of wirelessly communicating with a first communication apparatusand with a plurality of second wireless communication apparatuses, andto a wireless communication method.

Description of the Related Art

In recent years, technologies for reducing the complexity associatedwith connecting cables when image data stored in portable informationterminals, such as cellular phones, digital cameras, notebook computers,and personal digital assistants (PDAs), are printed with imageprocessing apparatuses, such as printers, have been suggested. Forexample, a method for connecting to a printer via wirelesscommunication, such as a wireless local-area network (LAN), for example,Bluetooth™ or IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, has been suggested.

Thus, unlike a case of connection using a wired interface, such as auniversal serial bus (USB) or an IEEE 1284 cable, users do not have anyuncertainty regarding where to insert a cable into the back of anapparatus and do not have to be bothered about where the cable is to beconnected. A technology described, for example, in Japanese PatentLaid-Open No. 2004-185388 is available.

For the connection using a wired interface, such as a USB or an IEEE1284 cable, due to the cable connection, a user is able to clearlyunderstand a portable information terminal and an image processingapparatus that are to be connected to each other. However, for a systemusing wireless communication, for example, for a system using Bluetooth,since wireless communication is normally available within a range ofabout 10 m, a plurality of communication apparatuses, such as imageprocessing apparatuses, having an identical wireless communicationfunction may be located within a range in which communication isavailable. In this case, it is difficult for a portable informationterminal to automatically determine which communication apparatus amongthe plurality of communication apparatuses it is to connect to.

There is a similar problem in the case of an image processing apparatus.For example, when an image processing apparatus attempts to transferdata to a portable information terminal, a plurality of portableinformation terminals having an identical wireless communicationfunction may be located within a range in which the image processingapparatus can perform communication (that is, a range in which radiowaves can reach). In this case, it is difficult for the image processingapparatus to automatically determine which portable information terminalamong the plurality of portable information terminals it is to connectto.

Thus, a method has been suggested in which, when a plurality of portableinformation terminals capable of wirelessly communicating with acommunication apparatus exists, a list of the plurality of portableinformation terminals capable of wirelessly communicating with thecommunication apparatus is displayed on a display unit of thecommunication apparatus and a desired portable information terminal isselected from the list of the plurality of portable informationterminals by a user operation. For example, a method described inJapanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-252564 is available.

Another method is also suggested in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.2005-252564. In this method, apparatus information of portableinformation terminals that have previously established communicationwith a communication apparatus is stored and displayed on a display unitof the communication apparatus, and a desired portable informationterminal is selected in accordance with the apparatus information by auser operation.

In addition, a method for easily identifying a portable informationterminal to communicate with a wireless communication apparatus issuggested, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-94206. Inthis method, a reader receives image data displayed on a display unit ofa portable information terminal. The image data is compared with apicture image acquired via a wireless communication unit. If the imagedata displayed on the display unit of the portable information terminalis exactly the same as the picture image acquired via the wirelesscommunication unit, the portable information terminal is identified as adestination terminal to be wirelessly communicated by the wirelesscommunication apparatus.

However, in a network using such wireless communication, when aplurality of portable information terminals exists within a range inwhich communication is available, a list of the plurality of portableinformation terminals capable of communication must be displayed on thedisplay unit. Alternatively, for every communication operation, a listof portable information terminals that have previously establishedcommunication with the communication apparatus must be displayed on thedisplay unit and a user has to select a desired portable informationterminal from the list of portable information terminals.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a mechanism capable of easily identifyinga portable information terminal that can transmit or receive data.

An information processing apparatus according to an aspect of thepresent invention includes a first communication unit configured tocommunicate with a first communication apparatus; a second communicationunit configured to wirelessly communicate with each of one or moresecond wireless communication apparatuses; an acquisition unitconfigured to acquire via the first communication unit from the firstcommunication apparatus an apparatus ID that is held by the firstcommunication apparatus and that is used for identifying one of the oneor more second wireless communication apparatuses to or from which thesecond communication unit transmits or receives data; and a control unitconfigured to control the second communication unit to transmit orreceive the data to or from the one of the one or more second wirelesscommunication apparatuses that is identified by the apparatus IDacquired by the acquisition unit.

An information processing apparatus according to another aspect of thepresent invention includes a first communication unit configured tocommunicate with a first communication apparatus; a second communicationunit configured to wirelessly communicate with each of one or moresecond wireless communication apparatuses; an acquisition unitconfigured to acquire from the one or more second wireless communicationapparatuses capable of communication via the second communication unitapparatus IDs that identify the corresponding one or more secondwireless communication apparatuses in response to start of communicationbetween the first communication unit and the first communicationapparatus; a determination unit configured to determine one of theapparatus IDs acquired by the acquisition unit that corresponds to theone of the one or more second wireless communication apparatuses to orfrom which the second communication unit transmits or receives data; anda control unit configured to control the second communication unit totransmit or receive the data to or from the one of the one or moresecond wireless communication apparatuses that corresponds to the one ofthe apparatus IDs determined by the determination unit.

A wireless communication method according to an aspect of the presentinvention for use in an information processing apparatus including afirst communication unit configured to communicate with a firstcommunication apparatus and a second communication unit configured towirelessly communicate with each of one or more second wirelesscommunication apparatuses includes an acquisition step of acquiring fromthe first communication apparatus an apparatus ID that identifies one ofthe one or more second wireless communication apparatuses to or fromwhich the second communication unit transmits or receives data; and acontrol step of controlling the second communication unit to transmit orreceive the data to or from the one of the one or more second wirelesscommunication apparatuses that corresponds to the apparatus ID acquiredin the acquisition step.

A wireless communication method according to another aspect of thepresent invention for use in an information processing apparatusincluding a first communication unit configured to communicate with afirst communication apparatus and a second communication unit configuredto wirelessly communicate with each of one or more second wirelesscommunication apparatuses includes an acquisition step of acquiring fromthe one or more second wireless communication apparatuses capable ofcommunication via the second communication unit apparatus IDs thatidentify the corresponding one or more second wireless communicationapparatuses in response to start of communication between the firstcommunication unit and the first communication apparatus; adetermination step of determining one of the apparatus IDs acquired inthe acquisition step that corresponds to the one of the one or moresecond wireless communication apparatuses to or from which the secondcommunication unit transmits or receives data; and a control step ofcontrolling the second communication unit to transmit or receive thedata to or from the one of the one or more second wireless communicationapparatuses that corresponds to the one of the apparatus IDs determinedin the determination step.

Accordingly, a portable information terminal that can transmit orreceive data can be easily identified.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a data processing system to whichan information processing apparatus and a portable information terminalaccording to a first embodiment can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an imageprocessing apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of acontactless ID card capable of communicating with a card reader/writershown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second wirelesscommunication apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a first data processperformed by an information processing system according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a data process performed bythe information processing system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a data process performed bythe information processing system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a data process performed byan information processing system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an illustration for explaining a memory map of a storagemedium in which various data processing programs that can be read by aninformation processing system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention are stored.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration in which a firstwireless communication apparatus and a second wireless communicationapparatus are integrated with each other according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a screen displayed on a display unit.

FIG. 12 shows an example of another screen displayed on the displayunit.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a further screen displayed on the displayunit.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described withreference to the drawings.

System Configuration First Embodiment

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the first embodiment, a first wireless communication apparatus is,for example, a contactless ID card that holds personal information orthe like, a second wireless communication apparatus is, for example, aportable information terminal, such as a cellular phone, a digitalcamera, or a USB memory, and an information processing apparatus has awireless communication function. The information processing apparatusis, for example, an image processing apparatus 100 that converts datacode received via a wireless unit into image data and that prints theimage data. The image processing apparatus 100 may be a digital copyingmachine, a printer apparatus that is not provided with a scannerfunction, or other electronic apparatuses, such as a computer apparatusthat performs image editing.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a configuration of an information processingsystem according to the first embodiment including an informationprocessing apparatus and portable information terminals.

Referring to FIG. 1, the information processing system includes theimage processing apparatus 100 connected to a public Internet network ora LAN, to which personal computers (computers) 101 and 102 and a servercomputer 103 are connected. Portable information terminals (apparatuses104 to 108) that are capable of wirelessly communicating with the imageprocessing apparatus 100 are located around the image processingapparatus 100. The apparatuses 104 to 108 are, for example, a cellularphone, a digital camera, a notebook computer, a PDA, and a cellularphone containing FeliCa®, which is an example of a contactless ID card.In the first embodiment, communication between the image processingapparatus 100 and each of the apparatuses 104 to 108 is available viawireless communication using Bluetooth or a wireless LAN. However, thewireless communication system used here may be other types of wirelesscommunication system.

A contactless ID card 300 is also capable of wirelessly communicatingwith the image processing apparatus 100. The contactless ID card 300 isused by a user to log into the image processing apparatus 100. Wirelesscommunication between the contactless ID card 300 and the imageprocessing apparatus 100 is performed via a wireless communication unitthat is different from that used for wireless communication between theimage processing apparatus 100 and each of the apparatuses 104 to 108.In the first embodiment, wireless communication between the contactlessID card 300 and the image processing apparatus 100 is performed based onthe FeliCa system. However, obviously, other types of wirelesscommunication unit may be used.

In the first embodiment, the apparatus 108 is configured such that thecontactless ID card 300 is incorporated in a portable informationterminal.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the imageprocessing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1. The image processing apparatus100 according to the first embodiment is a multifunction peripheral(MFP) that is provided with a copy function, a printer function, a faxfunction, and a scanner function.

Referring to FIG. 2, a plurality of processing units is connected to acontroller unit 201 that generally controls the entire image processingapparatus 100. The controller unit 201 contains a central processingunit (CPU) and a read-only memory (ROM), which are not shown in FIG. 2.A card reader/writer 202 wirelessly communicates with a contactless IDcard, such as a FeliCa card.

A display unit 203 displays various user interface screens for givinginstructions via an operation unit 204.

A wireless communication unit 206 is an interface for wirelesslycommunicating with each of the apparatuses 104 to 108. A printer unit207 receives print jobs and image data from the computers 101 and 102and the apparatuses 104 to 108 shown in FIG. 1 and performs printing. Inaddition, the printer unit 207 prints image data read with a scannerunit 208. An image processing unit 210 performs various types of imageprocessing, such as compression/decompression, rotation, and variablemagnification, on image data received by an image communication unit 209or the like. A memory unit 211 includes a random-access memory (RAM), ahard disk, and the like.

When the contactless ID card 300 in which login information, which isnecessary for logging into the image processing apparatus 100, isrecorded in advance is brought close to the card reader/writer 202, thecard reader/writer 202 receives a user's user ID from an integratedcircuit (IC) contained in the contactless ID card 300. In the firstembodiment, a case of the logging into the image processing apparatus100 is described. However, a directory server (not shown) may be loggedinto. In this case, the image processing apparatus 100 transmits to thedirectory server the login information received via the cardreader/writer 202.

In addition, by a user operation, a user ID necessary for login istransmitted to the contactless ID card 300, so that the user ID can bewritten to a memory unit 305 contained in the contactless ID card 300shown in FIG. 3.

The display unit 203 indicates an instruction for a user operation and aprint preview of an image to be printed. The display unit 203 is, forexample, a liquid crystal panel.

The operation unit 204 is used by the user to select a desired operationvia a key operation. For example, the display unit 203 and the operationunit 204 may be integrated with each other when the operation unit 204is a liquid crystal touch panel. A user interface unit can be formed ofthe display unit 203 and the operation unit 204.

The wireless communication unit 206 includes an antenna section, a radiofrequency (RF) section, and a baseband section that are used for datacommunication with a wireless communication apparatus, such as aportable information terminal, via a wireless communication system usingBluetooth or a wireless LAN. In the first embodiment, compared withcommunication via the card reader/writer 202, communication via thewireless communication unit 206 is capable of transferring a largeramount of data per unit time.

The printer unit 207 prints an electric image signal as a visible imageon recording paper. The printer unit 207 includes a laser beam printeror an inkjet printer.

The scanner unit 208 includes an image sensor, a read driver, alight-source switch controller, and the like that are used for opticallyreading an original image and converting the original image into anelectric image signal.

When the image sensor driven by the read driver of the scanner unit 208performs scanning over the entire original, the light-source switchcontroller turns on a light source, such as a light-emitting diode(LED), contained in the image sensor. At the same time, a photosensorcontained in the image sensor optically reads the original image andconverts the read original image into an electric image signal.

The image communication unit 209 transmits and receives data to and froman external apparatus. The image communication unit 209 is connected toan Internet network or a LAN, connected to a public telephone circuit toperform facsimile communication, or connected to a personal computer viaa USB interface. The wireless communication unit 206 is an interfaceused for wireless communication, whereas the image communication unit209 is an interface used for wired communication. The imagecommunication unit 209 is also capable of communication of data otherthan image data.

The image processing unit 210 performs image processing on image data.In image reading processing, the image processing unit 210 performsshading correction and the like on image data received from the scannerunit 208, and performs processing, such as gamma control, binarization,half-tone processing, and color conversion from RGB to CMYK.

In addition, the image processing unit 210 performs resolutionconversion on image data in accordance with a recording resolution ofthe printer unit 207. Furthermore, the image processing unit 210performs processing, such as variable magnification, smoothing, anddensity correction of images, and outputs processed image data to alaser beam printer or the like.

The memory unit 211 is a memory device including a synchronous dynamicRAM (SDRAM) and a hard disk drive (HDD). The memory unit 211 temporarilystores image data. In addition, the memory unit 211 stores a controlprogram and data used by the controller unit 201 to attain a function ofthe image processing apparatus 100.

The controller unit 201 generally controls the entire image processingapparatus 100. The controller unit 201 is electrically connected to eachof the blocks, such as the printer unit 207 and the scanner unit 208.The controller unit 201 performs control to attain an advanced function.

For example, a copy function is provided when the controller unit 201controls the scanner unit 208 to read image data of an original in orderto attain a scanning function and controls the printer unit 207 tooutput the image data onto recording paper.

In addition, the controller unit 201 provides a scanner function totransmit image data read by the scanner unit 208 to a network throughthe image communication unit 209. Furthermore, the controller unit 201provides a printer function to convert code data received from thenetwork or the like through the image communication unit 209 into imagedata and to output the image data to the printer unit 207.

In addition, the controller unit 201 performs control to log into theimage processing apparatus 100 using a user ID received from thecontactless ID card 300 via the card reader/writer 202, and to controlthe display unit 203 to display a list of portable information terminalscapable of communication via the wireless communication unit 206.Furthermore, the controller unit 201 controls communication performanceof the wireless communication unit 206 in accordance with conditions ofthe image processing apparatus 100. In order to realize such control, aCPU (not shown) is provided in the controller unit 201.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of thecontactless ID card 300, which is capable of communicating with the cardreader/writer 202 shown in FIG. 2.

In a contactless ID card, an IC chip transmits and receives data viawireless communication using induced power obtained via a loop antennaby receiving external radio waves. The IC chip may be, for example, aradio-frequency identification (RFID) chip or a μ-chip.

The term “contactless ID card” is merely used in the first embodimentfor the sake of convenience. For example, the term “contactless ID card”is a generic name indicating a device that includes a memory unitholding, for example, a user's user ID and the like and that performswireless communication using external radio waves. Such a device is notnecessarily a card as long as it has the above-described configuration.For example, such a device may be a cellular phone.

Each unit of the contactless ID card 300 according to the firstembodiment will now be described with reference to FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 3, a control unit 301 executes a control programstored in a ROM 304, and controls an operation of the entire contactlessID card 300. The control unit 301 includes a CPU, which is not shown. Adata transmission and reception unit 303 inputs and outputs datacontained in radio waves transmitted and received via an antenna unit302. Information and a program that are unique to the contactless IDcard are stored in the ROM 304. Data input and output via the datatransmission and reception unit 303 is stored in the memory unit 305. Aportable information terminal ID, which will be described below, anduser information (that is, a login name and a password) associated withthe portable information terminal ID are stored in the memory unit 305.

As an operation of the contactless ID card 300, for example, when thedata transmission and reception unit 303 receives a portable informationterminal ID and a user ID, the control unit 301 controls the portableinformation terminal ID and the user ID to be written as registrationinformation into the memory unit 305. The portable information terminalID and user information (that is, a login name and a password)associated with the portable information terminal ID are stored in thememory unit 305.

As another operation of the contactless ID card 300, for example, thedata transmission and reception unit 303 receives radio waves containinga portable information terminal ID issued from the card reader/writer202 of the image processing apparatus 100. In response to the receivedportable information terminal ID being the same as a portableinformation terminal ID stored as registration information in the memoryunit 305 of the contactless ID card 300, the control unit 301 controlsthe data transmission and reception unit 303 to transmit a user's userID corresponding to the matched portable information terminal ID storedas registration information in the memory unit 305 of the contactless IDcard 300.

In the first embodiment, the contactless ID card 300 wirelesslycommunicates with the image processing apparatus 100 using weak radiowaves. Alternatively, instead of the contactless ID card, a contact IDcard may be used. In this case, a reader/writer for a contact ID cardcan be used as the card reader/writer 202 of the image processingapparatus 100.

A configuration of a digital camera, which is an example of a secondwireless communication apparatus 400 according to the first embodiment,will now be described.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the secondwireless communication apparatus 400 according to the first embodiment.In this example, a digital camera is used as the second wirelesscommunication apparatus 400.

Referring to FIG. 4, a controller unit 401 executes a control programstored in a ROM 406 and controls an operation of the entire digitalstill camera. The controller unit 401 includes a CPU (not shown). Awireless communication unit 405 performs data communication with anexternal apparatus via a wireless communication unit using Bluetooth ora wireless LAN. Wireless communication of image data captured by acamera unit 410 is performed via the wireless communication unit 405.

A display unit 403 is, for example, an LCD display unit that displaysimage data stored in a memory unit 402. An operation unit 404 includesvarious switches used for operating the digital camera. The camera unit410 is an image-capturing unit that captures an image of a subject togenerate a digital image. The image of the subject captured by thecamera unit 410 is converted into digital image data and stored in thememory unit 402. A user ID that identifies a user who is permitted touse the second wireless communication apparatus 400 is stored in thememory unit 402 or the ROM 406.

For example, when the wireless communication unit 405 receives a user'suser ID transmitted from the image processing apparatus 100, thecontroller unit 401 of the second wireless communication apparatus(digital camera) 400 determines whether or not the user's user ID is thesame as the user ID stored in the memory unit 402 or the ROM 406. If thecontroller unit 401 determines that the user ID is valid, the controllerunit 401 causes the second wireless communication apparatus (digitalcamera) 400 to enter a login mode in which the second wirelesscommunication apparatus (digital camera) 400 is operable. In addition,when the wireless communication unit 405 receives a data transferrequest from an external apparatus, the controller unit 401 controls animage to be transferred in response to the transfer request.

In FIG. 4, the second wireless communication apparatus (digital camera)400 is used as a wireless communication apparatus. However, the wirelesscommunication apparatus may be a terminal, such as a cellular phone, aPDA, or a notebook computer. A configuration of the wirelesscommunication apparatus may be slightly different from the configurationshown in FIG. 4 depending on the type of apparatus. However, theconfiguration of each of the controller unit 401, the memory unit 402,the display unit 403, the operation unit 404, the wireless communicationunit 405, and the ROM 406 is the same as that of the second wirelesscommunication apparatus 400 irrespective of the type of apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of a cellularphone containing FeliCa, which is an example of a wireless communicationapparatus 1000 according to the first embodiment including the firstwireless communication apparatus and the second wireless communicationapparatus that are integrated with each other. The apparatus 108 shownin FIG. 1 has the configuration shown in FIG. 10.

Referring to FIG. 10, the wireless communication apparatus 1000 furtherincludes a data transmission and reception unit 407, an antenna unit408, and a telephone unit 420 connected to the controller unit 401, inaddition to the configuration shown in FIG. 4. The same component partsas in FIG. 4 are referred to with the same reference numerals, and thedescriptions of those same parts will be omitted.

The data transmission and reception unit 407 has a configuration similarto the data transmission and reception unit 303 of the contactless IDcard 300 shown in FIG. 3. The data transmission and reception unit 407is configured to transmit and receive data via wireless communicationusing an IC chip. The IC chip is formed of the antenna unit 408 and thedata transmission and reception unit 407. The antenna unit 408 has aconfiguration similar to the antenna unit 302 of the contactless ID card300 shown in FIG. 3. The antenna unit 408 is configured to transmit andreceive radio waves used in wireless communication using the IC chip.

In the wireless communication apparatus 1000, when the data transmissionand reception unit 407 receives via the antenna unit 408 radio wavescontaining a portable information terminal ID and a user ID, thecontroller unit 401 controls the portable information terminal ID andthe user ID to be written as registration information into the memoryunit 402. The portable information terminal ID and user information(that is, a login name and a password) associated with the portableinformation terminal ID are stored in the memory unit 402. When the datatransmission and reception unit 407 receives via the antenna unit 408radio waves containing a portable information terminal ID issued fromthe card reader/writer 202 of the image processing apparatus 100, thecontroller unit 401 controls the data transmission and reception unit407 to transmit a user's user ID corresponding to a portable informationterminal ID stored in the memory unit 402 that is the same as theportable information terminal ID received from the card reader/writer202 of the image processing apparatus 100.

The processing operation according to the first embodiment will now bedescribed with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 to 7.

FIGS. 5 to 7 are flowcharts showing an example of a first data processperformed by the information processing system according to the firstembodiment.

The image processing apparatus 100, the contactless ID card 300, or thewireless communication apparatus 1000 containing the contactless ID card300 performs processing of the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 to 7.

The user brings the contactless ID card 300, which has been issued forthe user, close to the card reader/writer 202 of the image processingapparatus 100 in a standby mode (step S501). Instead of the contactlessID card 300, the wireless communication apparatus 1000 containing acontactless ID card may be used. Although processing of each step in thecase of the contactless ID card 300 will be described, the wirelesscommunication apparatus 1000 may be used instead of the contactless IDcard 300.

The card reader/writer 202 always emits weak radio waves containing aterminal ID indicating the ID of the image processing apparatus 100.

The weak radio waves are dependent on a communication environment, suchas a characteristic of an antenna. The range of such weak radio waves istypically about 10 cm. When the contactless ID card 300 is brought closeto the area in which the contactless ID card 300 is capable ofcommunicating with the card reader/writer 202, the IC chip contained inthe contactless ID card 300 receives the weak radio waves and isactivated. Then, the IC chip acquires via wireless communication theterminal ID contained in the radio waves. The IC chip transmits a userID stored in the contactless ID card 300 to the image processingapparatus 100 via the data transmission and reception unit 303 and theantenna unit 302. The “user ID” includes a login name and a passwordthat allow, for example, the image processing apparatus 100 to beoperable.

In step S502, the image processing apparatus 100 determines whether ornot the card reader/writer 202 has received the user ID transmitted fromthe contactless ID card 300. If it is determined in step S502 that thecard reader/writer 202 has received the user ID, the process proceeds tostep S503. If it is determined in step S502 that the card reader/writer202 has not received the user ID, the image processing apparatus 100waits until the card reader/writer 202 receives the user ID in stepS502. In step S503, the controller unit 201 determines whether or notthe user ID received from the contactless ID card 300 is valid. In orderto perform determination of the validity of the user ID, a valid user IDis held in advance in the memory unit 211. The controller unit 201determines whether the received user ID is valid or not by comparing thereceived user ID with the user ID held in the memory unit 211.

If the controller unit 201 determines in step S503 that a valid user IDhas not been received from the contactless ID card 300, the controllerunit 201 causes the display unit 203 to display a screen for urging theuser to input a user ID via a key operation using the operation unit 204(step S505). Then, the process returns to step S503. When the processreturns from step S505 to step S503, the controller unit 201 determineswhether or not the user ID input via the key operation using theoperation unit 204 is valid in step S503. If the controller unit 201determines in step S503 that a valid user ID has not been received fromthe contactless ID card 300, the controller unit 201 determines that anerror has occurred. In this case, the process may be terminated withoutproceeding to step S505.

In contrast, if the controller unit 201 determines in step S503 that thereceived user ID is valid, the controller unit 201 causes the imageprocessing apparatus 100 to enter an operable mode (that is, a loginmode) (step S504).

A case where an IC chip contained in the wireless communicationapparatus 1000, instead of the contactless ID card 300, communicateswith the image processing apparatus 100 using weak radio waves and theimage processing apparatus 100 enters the login mode in step in S504will now be explained. In this case, the wireless communication unit 405of the wireless communication apparatus 1000 may not be capable ofcommunicating with the image processing apparatus 100. In such a case,in step S504, the wireless communication unit 405 starts communicationwith the image processing apparatus 100 via a wireless LAN or the like.For such communication, the information necessary for performingwireless communication via the wireless LAN or the like is acquired viawireless communication using weak radio waves using an IC chip.

Then, in order to determine whether or not a portable informationterminal that is capable of wireless communication is located within awireless communication area, the wireless communication unit 206 of theimage processing apparatus 100 requests portable information terminalsto transmit respective IDs for identifying the portable informationterminals (hereinafter, referred to as portable information terminalIDs) (step S601). More specifically, when the wireless communicationunit 206 of the image processing apparatus 100 performs wirelesscommunication via a wireless LAN, such as the IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, thewireless communication unit 206 performs the processing of step S601 bya broadcasting procedure or the like. In the example shown in FIG. 1,the image processing apparatus 100 requests the apparatuses 104 to 108to transmit respective portable information terminal IDs.

In response to the request for transmission of a terminal ID, theportable information terminals transmit the respective portableinformation terminal IDs to the image processing apparatus 100. Thecontroller unit 201 of the image processing apparatus 100 causes thecard reader/writer 202 to transmit the received one or more portableinformation terminal IDs to the contactless ID card 300 (step S602).This processing is performed in order to determine whether or not theportable information terminal IDs received by the wireless communicationunit 206 have been registered in the memory unit 305 of the contactlessID card 300.

The control unit 301 of the contactless ID card 300 determines whetheror not each of the received portable information terminal IDs has beenregistered in the memory unit 305 (step S603). If the control unit 301determines in step S603 that the portable information terminal ID hasbeen registered, the process proceeds to step S704 (see FIG. 7).

In contrast, if the control unit 301 determines in step S603 that thereceived portable information terminal ID has not been registered, theprocess proceeds to step S604.

In step S604, the control unit 301 informs the image processingapparatus 100 that the received terminal ID has not been registered inthe contactless ID card 300. Then, the process proceeds to step S605.

In step S605, the controller unit 201 controls the display unit 203 todisplay a screen urging the user to input a login name and a password(that is, a user ID). The login name and the password allow a portableinformation terminal that is to communicate with the image processingapparatus 100 to be operable. The login name and the password that allowthe portable information terminal to be operable is information thatallows only a particular user to use the portable information terminaland that is stored in advance in the corresponding portable informationterminal (the corresponding one of the apparatuses 104 to 108). In thefirst embodiment, the login name and the password that allow theportable information terminal to be operable are different from thelogin name and the password that are used for logging into the imageprocessing apparatus 100 in the processing of steps S501 to S505 shownin FIG. 5. The login name is not necessarily used. Only the password maybe used.

The user inputs the login name and the password using the operation unit204 to log into the portable information terminal in accordance with thescreen displayed on the display unit 203, and the image processingapparatus 100 receives the input entered by the user (step S606). Theimage processing apparatus 100 displays on the display unit 203 a listof portable information terminals capable of wireless communication. Theuser selects, using the operation unit 204, a desired portableinformation terminal from the list, and the image processing apparatus100 receives the instruction given by the user (step S607). The list ofportable information terminals displayed on the display unit 203corresponds to portable information terminals whose portable informationterminal IDs are received from among the portable information terminalsacquired by the determination in step S601. The processing of step S606and step S607 may be performed in the reverse order.

The wireless communication unit 206 transmits the received login nameand password to the portable information terminal selected in step S607by the user (step S608).

The selected portable information terminal receives from the imageprocessing apparatus 100 the login name and the password input in stepS606, and verifies the login name and the password. If the login nameand the password are valid, the portable information terminal enters alogin mode (step S609). If it is determined that the login name and thepassword received by the portable information terminal are not valid,the process is terminated.

The controller unit 201 displays on the display unit 203 a screen urgingthe user to designate whether or not the portable information terminalID of the portable information terminal into which the user is loggingis to be registered in the contactless ID card 300 (step S610).

When the user designates that the portable information terminal ID is tobe registered in the contactless ID card 300, the portable informationterminal ID of the portable information terminal into which the user islogging is transmitted from the card reader/writer 202 to thecontactless ID card 300.

The IC chip contained in the contactless ID card 300 writes the receivedportable information terminal ID into the memory unit 305 (step S611),and the process proceeds to step S708 of FIG. 7.

Processing of step S704 and the subsequent processing shown in FIG. 7will now be described.

In step S704, a login name and a password used to log into the portableinformation terminal that is identified by the portable informationterminal ID registered in the contactless ID card 300 are transmitted tothe image processing apparatus 100. The login name and the passwordtransmitted in step S704 are stored in the memory unit 305 of thecontactless ID card 300 in association with the portable informationterminal ID. In addition, the image processing apparatus 100 is informedof the existence of the portable information terminal ID registered inthe contactless ID card 300 among one or more portable informationterminal IDs received from the image processing apparatus 100 in stepS602 and the portable information terminal ID registered in thecontactless ID card 300.

The image processing apparatus 100 receives via the card reader/writer202 the portable information terminal ID, the login name, and thepassword (step S705) from the contactless ID card 300. The controllerunit 201 of the image processing apparatus 100 controls the login nameand the password received from the contactless ID card 300 to betransmitted to the portable information terminal identified by theportable information terminal ID received from the contactless ID card300 (step S706). The portable information terminal receives the loginname and the password from the image processing apparatus 100, andverifies the login name and the password. If the login name and thepassword are valid, the portable information terminal enters the loginmode. If it is determined that the login name and the password receivedby the portable information terminal are not valid, the process isterminated. After the portable information terminal enters the loginmode, the portable information terminal informs the image processingapparatus 100 that a login process has been normally performed. Theimage processing apparatus 100 is informed of the completion of thelogin process from the portable information terminal, and recognizes theportable information terminal as the terminal to or from which data isto be transmitted or received when a job that will be instructed by theuser is performed (step S707).

By the above-described processing, the user has successfully logged intothe image processing apparatus 100 and the portable informationterminal. In addition, the image processing apparatus 100 is capable ofidentifying the portable information terminal into which the user haslogged. Thus, when a job that will be designated by the user isperformed, the image processing apparatus 100 is capable of identifyingthe portable information terminal to or from which data is to betransmitted or received. For example, in a case where a plurality ofapparatuses, such as the apparatuses 104 to 108, is capable ofcommunicating with the image processing apparatus 100, as shown in FIG.1, even when the user instructs the image processing apparatus 100 toexecute a job of receiving image data from a portable informationterminal and performing printing, the image processing apparatus 100 iscapable of uniquely identifying the portable information terminal towhich a request to transfer the image data is to be given.

After logging into the portable information terminal is completed, theimage processing apparatus 100 recognizes that the apparatus with whichthe image processing apparatus 100 wirelessly communicates is theportable information terminal. Then, the image processing apparatus 100determines whether or not image data is stored in the memory of theportable information terminal (step S708). This determination isrealized when the image processing apparatus 100 queries the portableinformation terminal as to existence of the image data, and thedetermination is performed in accordance with a response from theportable information terminal with respect to the query.

If the image data is not stored in the memory of the portableinformation terminal, the process proceeds to step S709. In step S709, amenu indicating a job executable by cooperation between the imageprocessing apparatus 100 and the portable information terminal isdisplayed on the display unit 203 of the image processing apparatus 100.In the processing of step S709, since the image data is not stored inthe memory of the portable information terminal, a job involvingprocessing of transferring the image data from the portable informationterminal to the image processing apparatus 100 is not displayed in themenu. For example, a job, such as “printing data stored in the portableinformation terminal” is not displayed in the menu. In contrast, a jobof transferring an image from the image processing apparatus 100 to theportable information terminal is displayed in the menu. It is determinedwhether or not image data is stored in the memory of the portableinformation terminal, and only an executable job is displayed on thedisplay unit 203 such that only the executable job can be selected. Thisprevents the user from selecting a job that cannot be executed.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the screen displayed on the display unit 203of the image processing apparatus 100 in step S709. Referring to FIG.11, the display unit 203 includes a touch panel. Thus, the display unit203 has both the functions of the display unit 203 and the operationunit 204 (the same is applied to examples shown in FIGS. 12 and 13).

On the display unit 203 of the image processing apparatus 100, a button1102 for instructing transmission (downloading) of data to the portableinformation terminal is displayed in a menu. When the user presses thebutton 1102 and then presses a “start” button 1104, a screen foradjusting detailed settings to execute a job is displayed. When the userpresses a “back” button 1106, the original screen displayed before thebutton 1102 is pressed is displayed.

If it is determined in step S708 that the image data is stored in thememory of the portable information terminal, the process proceeds tostep S710. A menu indicating a job that can be executed is displayed onthe display unit 203 of the image processing apparatus 100 (step S710).

FIG. 12 shows an example of the screen displayed on the display unit 203of the image processing apparatus 100 in step S710. In the processing ofstep S710, since the image data is stored in the memory of the portableinformation terminal, a job involving processing of transferring theimage data from the portable information terminal to the imageprocessing apparatus 100 is displayed in the menu, in addition to thescreen shown in FIG. 11. In FIG. 12, the same buttons as in FIG. 11 arereferred to with the same reference numerals, and the explanation ofthose same buttons will be omitted.

A button 1204 for instructing transmission of data stored in theportable information terminal is used for instructing a job of causingthe image processing apparatus 100 to receive the image data stored inthe portable information terminal and to transmit the image data viafacsimile, an electronic mail, or the like using a transmission functionprovided in the image processing apparatus 100.

A button 1206 for instructing transmission (uploading) of data to theimage processing apparatus is used for instructing a job of transferringthe image data from the portable information terminal to the imageprocessing apparatus 100 and storing the image data into the memory unit211 of the image processing apparatus 100.

A button 1208 for instructing printing of data stored in the portableinformation terminal is used for instructing a job of causing the imageprocessing apparatus 100 to receive the image data stored in theportable information terminal and to perform printing. When the button1102, 1204, 1206, or 1208 is pressed, a corresponding screen foradjusting detailed settings to execute a corresponding instructed job isdisplayed.

On the screen shown in FIG. 11 or 12, when the user presses the button1102 for instructing transmission of data to the portable informationterminal and the image processing apparatus 100 receives the depressionof the button 1102 (step S711), the process proceeds to step S715. Instep S715, image data to be transmitted (downloaded) to the portableinformation terminal is selected. For example, the user selects theimage data stored in the memory unit 211 of the image processingapparatus 100 or performs an operation to designate transmission ofimage data obtained by reading an original image with the scanner unit208, and the image processing apparatus 100 receives an instruction fromthe user.

When the user presses the button 1204 for instructing transmission ofdata stored in the portable information terminal on the screen shown inFIG. 12 and the image processing apparatus 100 receives the depressionof the button 1204 (step S712), the process proceeds to step S716. Instep S716, an operation for designating the image data stored in theportable information terminal and an operation for designating atelephone number or an electronic mail address as a destination to whichthe image data is to be transmitted are received.

When the user presses the button 1208 for instructing printing of datastored in the portable information terminal on the screen shown in FIG.12 and the image processing apparatus 100 receives the depression of thebutton 1208 (step S713), the process proceeds to step S717. In stepS717, an operation for designating the image data stored in the portableinformation terminal and adjusting detailed settings for printing theimage data (for example, color/monochrome, selection of paper, andfinishing) are received.

When the user presses the button 1206 for instructing transmission ofdata to the image processing apparatus is pressed on the screen shown inFIG. 12 and the image processing apparatus 100 receives the depressionof the button 1206 (step S714), the process proceeds to step S718. Instep S718, an operation of designating the image data stored in theportable information terminal and an operation for designating adirectory in the memory unit 211 as a destination in which the imagedata is to be stored are received.

In step S720, the image processing apparatus 100 executes thecorresponding job in accordance with the instruction received incorresponding processing from among the processing of steps S711 toS718. The apparatus to or from which the image data is to be transmittedor received is the portable information terminal into which the user haslogged.

After the execution of the job is completed, the process proceeds tostep S721. In step S721, it is determined whether or not communicationbetween the image processing apparatus 100 and the contactless ID card300 is available. The determination of whether or not the communicationis available is based on determination of whether or not thecommunication between the contactless ID card 300 and the imageprocessing apparatus 100 can be performed using weak radio waves.

If it is determined in step S721 that the communication is notavailable, the process proceeds to step S722. In step S722, a screenshown in FIG. 13 is displayed on the display unit 203 of the imageprocessing apparatus 100. The screen shown in FIG. 13 urges the user todetermine whether or not to continue the communication between theportable information terminal and the image processing apparatus 100 viaa wireless LAN or the like. If the user presses a YES button 1302 shownin FIG. 13, the wireless communication between the image processingapparatus 100 and the portable information terminal is disconnected(step S723), and the process is terminated. In contrast, if the userpresses a NO button 1304, the wireless communication between the imageprocessing apparatus 100 and the portable information terminal iscontinued, and the process proceeds to step S708. Thus, another job canbe executed. If it is determined in step S721 that the communication isavailable, the process proceeds to step S708.

According to the first embodiment, when the user performs an operationof only bringing the contactless ID card 300 close to the imageprocessing apparatus 100, logging into the image processing apparatus100 and identification of a portable information terminal can beachieved. In addition, since an appropriate execution menu isautomatically displayed on the display unit 203 in accordance withpresence or absence of image data in the memory of the portableinformation terminal, the user is able to easily select a desired job.

In addition, according to the first embodiment, with the contactless IDcard 300 used for login in order to use the image processing apparatus100, information of the portable information terminal used by the usercan be registered in the contactless ID card 300. That is, the portableinformation terminal that performs wireless communication can be easilyidentified with minimal burden on the user, and processing for logginginto the information processing apparatus can be quickly completed. Inaddition, executable processing can be easily identified in accordancewith conditions of the portable information terminal and can beexecuted. In addition, a communication unit used for communication withthe portable information terminal can be easily identified. Thus,processing to be desired by the user can be executed via thecommunication unit that is identified in advance.

Second Embodiment

In a second embodiment, a case where a plurality of pieces ofinformation each identifying a second wireless communication apparatusthat is to communicate with a wireless communication apparatus isregistered in a first communication apparatus will be described.

More specifically, in the second embodiment, a user owns a plurality ofportable information terminals capable of wireless communication and theuser desires to establish communication between one of the plurality ofportable information terminals and a wireless communication apparatus.

Since the configuration of the entire system, the configuration of theimage processing apparatus, the configuration of each of the portableinformation terminals, and the configuration of the contactless ID cardare the same as in the first embodiment, they will not be explainedhere.

A process according to the second embodiment will now be described withreference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showingan example of a data process performed by an information processingsystem according to the second embodiment. The image processingapparatus 100, the contactless ID card 300, or the wirelesscommunication apparatus 1000 containing a contactless ID card performsprocessing of steps S801 to S807.

The user brings the contactless ID card 300 functioning as a firstcommunication apparatus owned by the user close to the cardreader/writer 202 of the image processing apparatus 100 to log into theimage processing apparatus 100. Since the processing for logging intothe image processing apparatus 100 is similar to the processing shown bythe flowchart of FIG. 5, the explanation of the processing will beomitted.

After logging into the image processing apparatus 100 is completed, theprocess proceeds to step S801 of FIG. 8.

In order to determine whether or not a portable information terminalthat is capable of wireless communication is located within a range inwhich wireless communication is available, the wireless communicationunit 206 of the image processing apparatus 100 requests for a portableinformation terminal ID (step S801). The processing of step S801 is thesame as the processing of step S601 shown in FIG. 6.

In response to the request from the image processing apparatus 100, atleast one of the plurality of portable information terminals (that is,at least one of the apparatuses 104 to 108 shown in FIG. 1) transmits acorresponding portable information terminal ID to the image processingapparatus 100. If no portable information terminal ID is transmitted, itis determined that no portable information terminal that is capable ofcommunicating with the image processing apparatus 100 via a wireless LANor the like exists, and the process is terminated.

In order to determine whether or not the portable information terminalID of the portable information terminal received by the wirelesscommunication unit 206 has been registered in the memory unit 305 of thecontactless ID card 300, the controller unit 201 of the image processingapparatus 100 performs the subsequent processing. That is, thecontroller unit 201 causes the card reader/writer 202 to transmit thereceived portable information terminal ID of the portable informationterminal to the contactless ID card 300 (step S802).

Then, the controller unit 201 determines whether or not another portableinformation terminal ID has been received (step S804).

If the controller unit 201 determines that another portable informationterminal ID has been received, the process returns to step S802 totransmit the received portable information terminal ID of the portableinformation terminal to the contactless ID card 300.

The control unit 301 of the contactless ID card 300 determines whetheror not the received portable information terminal ID of the portableinformation terminal has been registered in the memory unit 305. If thecontrol unit 301 determines that the portable information terminal IDhas been registered in the memory unit 305, a user ID (that is, a loginname and a password) corresponding to the portable information terminalID is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 100. In the secondembodiment, since the plurality of portable information terminal IDs hasbeen registered in the memory unit 305, the login names and thepasswords corresponding to the respective portable information terminalIDs are transmitted from the contactless ID card 300 to the imageprocessing apparatus 100. A plurality of pairs of portable informationterminal IDs and user IDs (that is, login names and passwords)corresponding to the respective portable information terminals is storedin the memory unit 305 of the contactless ID card 300.

As described above, the processing of steps S802 to S804 is repeated.The image processing apparatus 100 queries as to user IDs correspondingto all the respective received portable information terminal IDs. Thus,portable information terminal IDs registered in the contactless ID card300 and login names and passwords to log into the respective portableinformation terminals can be acquired.

The processing given below may be performed instead of performing theloop of the processing of steps S802 to S804. That is, the imageprocessing apparatus 100 waits for a response from a portableinformation terminal, and transmits to the contactless ID card 300 oneor more portable information terminal IDs received during apredetermined period of time. The contactless ID card 300 determineswhether or not each of the received one or more portable informationterminal IDs is the same as a portable information terminal IDregistered in the contactless ID card 300. If one of the received one ormore portable information terminal IDs is the same as a portableinformation terminal ID registered in the contactless ID card 300, thecontactless ID card 300 transmits to the image processing apparatus 100the portable information terminal ID and a login name and a passwordthat correspond to the portable information terminal ID.

In step S805, the controller unit 201 of the image processing apparatus100 displays on the display unit 203 a list of the plurality of portableinformation terminals corresponding to the portable information terminalIDs received from the contactless ID card 300. Then, the controller unit201 urges the user to select one of the plurality of portableinformation terminals to be used for wireless communication.

In step S806, for example, the controller unit 201 of the imageprocessing apparatus 100 causes the wireless communication unit 206 totransmit the login name and the password to the selected portableinformation terminal. In step S807, the user also logs into the selectedportable information terminal. Then, the process is terminated.

Thus, image data and the like can be transferred between the imageprocessing apparatus 100 and the portable information terminal.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, since a wirelesscommunication apparatus identifies a plurality of second wirelesscommunication apparatuses in accordance with information received from afirst wireless communication apparatus and a user selects one of theplurality of portable information terminals, logging into the wirelesscommunication apparatus and the second wireless communication apparatuscan be achieved.

According to the second embodiment, the user is able to easily identifya portable information terminal, and a login operation to the imageprocessing apparatus 100 and the portable information terminal can beachieved without a key operation by the user. That is, a plurality ofportable information terminals that performs wireless communication canbe easily identified with minimal burden on the user, and logging intothe information processing apparatus can be rapidly completed.

Third Embodiment

A configuration of a data processing program that can be read by aninformation processing system according to a third embodiment will bedescribed with reference to a memory map of a storage medium, such as afloppy disk (FD) or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), shown inFIG. 9.

FIG. 9 is an illustration for explaining the memory map of the storagemedium in which various data processing programs that can be read by theinformation processing system according to the third embodiment arestored. Although the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 show a procedureof the entire system for the sake of explanation, the flowcharts shownin FIGS. 5 to 8 may be configured as a data processing program for eachdevice.

That is, in FIGS. 5 to 8, each of the processing of the first wirelesscommunication apparatus, the processing of the second wirelesscommunication apparatus, and the processing of the informationprocessing apparatus may be configured as an individual data processingprogram.

Although not particularly illustrated, in addition to informationmanaging a program group stored in the storage medium, such as versioninformation and a creator, information that depends on an operatingsystem (OS) on a program reading side or the like, such as an icon thatidentifies the program, may be stored.

Furthermore, data depending on various programs is managed by theabove-mentioned directory. In addition, a program for installing thevarious programs into a computer, a decompressing program fordecompressing a compressed program to be installed, and the like may bestored.

The functions shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 in the foregoing embodiments may beexecuted by a host computer in accordance with an externally installedprogram. In this case, the present invention is also applicable to acase where an information group including the program is supplied from astorage medium, such as a CD-ROM, a flash memory, or a floppy disk, orfrom an external storage medium via a network, to an output device.

As described above, a storage medium on which program code of softwarefor realizing the functions of the foregoing embodiments is recorded issupplied to a system or an apparatus. Aspects of the present inventionmay be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in thestorage medium by a computer (or a CPU or a microprocessing unit (MPU))of the system or the apparatus.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage mediumattains new functions of the foregoing embodiments, and the storagemedium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

Thus, any type of program, such as object code, a program to be executedby an interpreter, or script data to be supplied to the OS, may be usedas long as it includes a function of a program.

The storage medium for supplying a program may be, for example, a floppydisk, a hard disk, an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, an MO, aCD-ROM, a compact disc-recordable (CD-R), a compact disc (CD)-rewritable(CD-RW), a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, a digitalversatile disc (DVD), or the like.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage mediumattains the above-described functions of the foregoing embodiments, andthe storage medium storing the program code constitutes the presentinvention.

In addition, the program may be supplied by connecting to a homepage onthe Internet using a browser of a client computer and by downloading acomputer program according to an aspect of the present invention or acompressed file having an automatic installation function from thehomepage to a storage medium, such as a hard disk. In addition, theprogram may be supplied by dividing the program code constituting theprogram according to an aspect of the present invention into a pluralityof files and by downloading the divided files from different homepages.That is, a World Wide Web (WWW) server, a file transfer protocol (FTP)server, and the like for allowing a plurality of users to download aprogram file for realizing function processing of an aspect of thepresent invention on a computer are also included in the presentinvention.

A program according to an aspect of the present invention may be encodedand stored in a storage medium, such as a CD-ROM, and may be distributedto users. Only a user who satisfies predetermined conditions may be ableto download key information for decoding the encoded program from ahomepage via the Internet. In addition, the encoded program can beexecuted by using the downloaded key information and can be installed toa computer.

In addition, the functions of the foregoing embodiments can be attainednot only by executing the read program code by the computer but also byperforming part or all of the actual processing by an OS or the likerunning on the computer on the basis of instructions of the programcode.

Furthermore, the program code read from the storage medium may bewritten to a memory arranged in a function expansion board inserted intothe computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Thefunctions of the foregoing embodiments can also be attained byperforming part or all of the actual processing by the CPU or the likearranged in the function expansion board or the function expansion uniton the basis of instructions of the program code.

The present invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiments.Various changes including organic combinations of the foregoingembodiments may be made within the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. Such various modifications may also fall within the scope ofthe present invention.

Various examples and embodiments of the present invention have beenexplained. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that thespirit and scope of the present invention are not limited to a specificdescription of this specification.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all modifications, equivalent structures and functions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method to perform communication between a firstdevice and a second device, the method comprising: receiving, by thefirst device, information for identifying the second device from thesecond device by near field communication; identifying, by the firstdevice, the second device as a device with which the first deviceperforms wireless local-area network (LAN) communication based on thereceived information; transmitting first image data from the firstdevice to the identified second device by the wireless LANcommunication; and transmitting second image data from the identifiedsecond device to the first device by the wireless LAN communication,wherein both of a first instruction to transmit the first image data anda second instruction to transmit the second image data are received froma user operating the first device.